'DO A GOOD DEED DAILY'

Weblo Christopher Barnes handed out a few bags a few days early to get a jump start on the Boy Scout's "Scouting For Food" campaign. [Click to enlarge]

Residents throughout Stoddard County will have some young visitors at their homes Saturday, Nov.10, as Boy Scout Troops 371 of Dexter and 372 of Bernie will start "Scouting for Food." Each year, Boy Scout troops across Missouri head out into their communities and place empty bags at as many residences as possible in an effort to gather food for the needy. The campaign, now in its 17th year, is the largest single-day canned-food drive in the nation and is designed to collect food at a time of year when it is most needed. Diana Barnes, of Dexter, is the Cubmaster with Pack 200 in Dexter and said about 75 local Boy Scouts will be taking part in this year's campaign. The Dexter Boy Scouts are in the Greater St. Louis Council Area.

"I've been involved with the Scouts for about five years and we've done this every year that I can remember," Barnes said. "We do lose a few Scouts for the food drive because it always happens during deer season, but we usually have quite a few show up to help." Barnes said last year's campaign yielded about 7,800 cans of food. "We try to hit almost every house in town," Barnes said. "We place bags all through the city limits, in the Cotton Belt area of town and even go out as far as Ecology Acres." While adults are involved with the campaign, they usually drive the vehicles while the Boy Scouts place the bags and, later the following week, collect the filled bags. "They go out in groups and are usually divided up to work each side of the road," Barnes said.

According to Barnes, part of the importance of the food drive relates to part of the Boy Scout ethic. "Boy Scouts is about character and citizenship," Barnes said. "The Cub Scout motto is to do their best and be prepared. Just about everything they do revolves around teamwork and working with others." Barnes said all the Boy Scouts who participate are responsible for collecting the bagged goods as well as loading and unloading them and counting the cans. "All of the food collected in Dexter and Bernie goes to the Stoddard County Gospel Mission in Dexter," Barnes said. "This year I'm really hoping to see 10,000 cans of food collected." Residents should have the filled bags placed by their front doors by 9 a.m., Saturday, Nov.17, when the Boy Scouts return to retrieve the bags.